Tank closure fastener



Oct. 13, 1953 1.. s. AUGSPURGER ET AL 2,655,397

TANK CLOSURE FASTENER Filed April 50. 1949 2 Sheet s-Sheet l 49% -47 QZ J; Imsnfiws Luther 5.242192937712922" 49a. Delmas E Hesse Oct. 13, 1953 .,s. AUGSPURGER ETAL TANK CLOSURE FASTENER Filed April 30, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 25,; Imnzaw Q 61 lulhev 5 fluyspurger 63 DeZmas FHasse Patented Get. 13,

1 --'Il'1is" ini enti0n relates to 'c lbsure rastenrs generally but is more' barticularly concernedwith ones especially designed and adaptedfor use' on ton-1' closures "for rentamype water 'softenrs.

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re sue 2 adjustable-ebetiment rer the eurfiesesstetelrere memp 3 55 P .9% qsvrej es enen rin efieliizeawe? Kialewhi adjustment for the abut- $5 "Hate' the' cdnfprssible rubber gasket'ring l8. ly projctl'rig rim 1 on 'the" ringl SspatYed rtdia fly bum/army fromthe groove "serves to *bd'rffine' the gasket ring lfl. "A circular sh'et 'fi1etetlcap o'r 1id'20"of the same diameter *as 'i'ihg l5 rests on' gasket '1 8' and has a. beveled'top face 2s'imiler to bevel l6 previously "mentioned. Thse' two bevelS "Iii 'a'nd '2! "cooperate withfixe *b'ev'eled inner surfaces 1 '22 and 23011 two hearl'y semi-circmar channel section ring or ba'hdiner'hbe'rs fiend- 25, so that when the band24 25 thus formed is contracted radially relatiVeto'fing 15 andeap 20 thela'tter is forced-down, tightly eompies'sing gasket "l8 to form a, water-tight seal. The two "band members 24* and dix'arei 'pivotally connected at one end by means of whom-.26 thht passes through registering holes in :interfitting knuckles ZIandQB-pr'ovided on the adjoining'ends of the two band members, the bolt- 26. passingialso through. a registering hole 29in'a=bracket 30 that issuitably weldedpnto' the upper end of the tank 14 below the, ring I 5, whereby to support the twopiece band 24 25 on the *tank and accordingly facilitate operation of the structure genera-11y. "The closure fastener mechenism -iil of mydnventior; is operatively connected with thefreee ds off the band. members Mend 25and servesttoidraw fihes uen s. o e h r wi e a erenter to le when t e. ask t 1 f or nempst of; the necesggry yield in the structure topermit 'suchop'eration' .t 1 4 eme fes r. me ha i 3| cdm i Wee bu me re tq led wl me p yq edfa 9, 3 F 11. g l e intemnefiete e e s 9 t e tt r w endea t e evers-M in .eivfiefi g as 1 i 5 to 1 h bi ur e end 36 qtite .e eehine pl te 1 th t m y. b e de z ea h w Pip rt qn of the. r e en i ba d-"membe 1 F fihqi h r w as, ar ind a emce er-em flt fili v ff 4pha ill a o i d n l xt ed inehpl j p v e ther i "in whi het service man can enter one end oien operating le r a inqie ted in 1? d ttedliner e it sitl h We 4 n R sh r e e su z m 3191 53 m y-bq te e pi hs: dendiiflln QRQE I. te hie at .v hat is We ded 2m Ot erwi e u t b ewed 4 t e web ma t an P e A Othe ba .m mb mt a th -t e en thereiof A rectariguler abutment; plate,- we agifi ebl mswnt d nit ee brke e d-fiz th filfiefi; hey-m 0 a s re .45 he y nreede m, in e Pl e #3: bu extendsir q y tb pfis h a 11018141 nrpv ed he et r in th at m hp ifil 9 Q t mmvidi eesmal e n a r m heh e 1 tq thet but ent with its edge 48 abutting the end 4! of the link 32, and it should be obvious from the two positions of the link 32 and lever 34 shown in Fig. 2 that When the lever 34 is swung from the dotted line position past a dead-center position with respect to pivot 35, the band 24-25 is thereby contracted radially to a predetermined extent, usually sufficient to compress the gasket [8 between the ring [5 and plate 28 to make a watertight seal. However, if further contraction of the band 2425 is necessary, the screw 45 can be removed and the plate 44 turned through ninety degrees (90) to present either of the edges 49 for abutment with the end portion 4| of link 32. Such adjustment is usually made after the water softener has been in service and there has been some wear on the beveled surfaces IB and 21 and also some wear and change of shape in the gasket l8. If at the time of original assembling of the softener at the factory a tight enough seal cannot be obtained with the plate 44 in the position shown in Fig. 3 and a tight seal can be obtained only if the plate 44 is turned at right angles to present either of its edges 49 for abutment with the link 32, then a different plate Mia, shown in Fig. 5, should be installed, where the dimension b from the hole 41a to the edge 58a corresponds to the dimension b in Fig. 4 and a larger dimension is represented between the hole 41a and at least one of the edges 5% extending in right angle relation to edge Eda, so that the service man can later adjust the plate 540/, to compensate for wear after the softener has been in service for some time and the need is indicated for greater tightening of the band 24-25 in order to obtain a good watertight seal.

In operation, it should be clear from the foregoing that we have provided an easily and quickly operable closure fastener mechanism, so that a service man will not have to spend too much time removing bags of exhausted mineral from the tank [4 and replacing them with bags of regenerated mineral, and yet there is little or no likelihood of the tank being opened accidentally by children tampering with the toggle mechanism, because the lever 34 cannot be operated without entering in the hole 35 the special tool used by the service man and required for the operation. Furthermore, it takes only a few minutes for the service man to adjust the plate 44 through ninety degrees (90) if the band 2425 must be closed a little more tightly in order to effect a good water-tight seal. Of course,

if the gasket l8 gets too badly distorted and must be replaced, a gasket of slightly larger crosssection than was originally used would also serve to compensate for whatever slight amount of wear may have occurred in the rest of the closure structure.

The closure fastener mechanism 3 lb, shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is closely relatedto that of Figs. 2 and 3, link 32b corresponding to link 32, lever 341) corresponding to lever 34, and so on. However, in this form a cylindrical plate 44d takes the place of the rectangular plate d4 of Fig. 4 and has an annular groove 55 in which the arcuate end Mb of the link 32b is received in any position of rotation of the plate, this plate having an eccentric hole 56 in which a screw 51 is received for fastening the same to the web portion of the band member 2512 at the free end thereof, and. also having a pin 58 projecting therefrom which may be entered in either one of four circumferentially spaced holes 59G2 provided therefor in the web portion 63 of the band member 2551), all at the same radius with respect to the hole 64 in which the screw 51 is entered. The holes 59 are approximately ninety degrees apart, and there are, therefore, four different positions of assembly of plate Mel on band member 25d, each spacing the abutment side of the plate 4401 for link 3222 differently with respect to the end of the band member 25b. The operation of this form is believed to be clear enough from the foregoing description to make further description unnecessary.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of our invention. The appended claims have been drawn to-cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

We claim:

1. In a receptacle, a closure, a fastening band element to surround the receptacle and closure separable at a portion thereof, tightening means for said band element adjacent said portion comprising an elongated, over-center, toggle locking member pivoted at one end to the band element on one side of said separable portion, a toggle draw link pivoted at one end on said locking member intermediate the ends thereof, and adjustable means on said band element on the other side of said separable portion engageable by the other'end of said toggle draw link consisting of an abutment plate which in different positions of rotary adjustment permits different degrees of tightening of said band element when the locking member is moved over-center to locking position, said adjustable means including an attaching plate affixed to said band element having a forked end remote from said toggle locking member and adapted to receive the end of said draw link, and said abutment plate being detachably mounted in said forked end on a bolt carried on said attaching plate and entered in an eccentric hole provided therefor in said abutment plate, said bolt being removable to permit assembly of said abutment plate in the forked end of said attaching plate in different positions of rotary adjustment.

2. In a receptacle, a closure, a fastening band element to surround the receptacle and closure separable at a portion thereof, tightening means for said band element adjacent said portion comprising an elongated, over-center, toggle locking member pivoted at one end to the band element on one side of said separable portion, a toggle draw link pivoted at one end on said locking member intermediate the ends thereof, the other end of said draw link having an opening provided therein, and adjustable means on said band element on the other side of said separable portion engageable in the open end of said toggle draw link consisting of an abutment platewhich in different positions of rotary adjustment permits different degrees of tightening of said band element when the locking member is moved overcenter to locking position, said adjustable means including an attaching plate afiixed to said band element having a forked end remote from said toggle locking member and adapted to enter the opening in the end of said draw link, and said abutment plate being detachably mounted in said forked end on a bolt carried on said attaching plate and entered in an eccentric hole provided therefor in said abutment plate, said bolt being removable to permit assembly of said abutment plate in the forked end of said attaching plate in different positions of rotary adjustment.

'3. In a receptacle, a closure, a fastening band element to surround the receptacle and closure separable at a portion thereof, tightening means for said band element adjacent said portion comprising an elongated, over-center, toggle looking member pivoted at one end to the band element on one side of said separable portion, a toggle draw link of fixed length pivoted at one end on said locking member intermediate the ends thereof, the other end having a transverse portion, and adjustable means on said band element on the other side of said separable portion engageable with the transverse portion on the latter end of said toggle draw link consisting of an abutment plate of rectangular form having means for fastening the same in fixed relation to said band element in any one of a plurality of different positions of rotary adjustment about an axis located eccentrically thereof, whereby either one of the flat edges thereof may serve as an abutment for the transverse portion on the end of the draw link, said edges in different positions of rotary adjustment providing abutments for the transverse portion on the end of the draw link spaced differently from the separable portion of the band, whereby to provide for different degrees of tightening of said band element when the locking member is moved over-center to locking position.

4. In a receptacle, a closure, a fastening band element to surround the receptacle and closure separable at a portion thereof, tightening means for said band element adjacent said portion comprising an elongated, over-center, toggle locking member pivoted at one end to the band element on one side of said separable portion, a toggle draw link of fixed lengths pivoted at one end on said locking member intermediate the ends thereof, the other end having a transverse portion, and adjustable means on said band element on the other side of said separable portion engageable with the transverse portion on the latter end of said toggle draw link consisting of an abutment plate of generally circular form having a bolt entered through a hole provided therein located eccentrically thereof for fastening the same in fixed relation to said band element in different positions of rotary adjustment, whereby said plate in its different positions of rotary adjustment provides abutments for the transverse portion on the end of the draw link spaced differently from the separable portion of the band, to provide for different degrees of tightening of said band element when the looking member is moved over-center to locking position, said plate having a pin projection that is engageable selectively in any one of a plurality of circumferentially spaced holes provided in said band element on a common radius with respect to a hole provided in said band element for reception of the aforesaid fastening bolt, whereby said plate is positively held against turning relative to said bolt in any one of its different positions of rotary adjustment predetermined by the location of said circumferentially spaced holes.

5. In a receptacle, a closure, a fastening band element to surround the receptacle and closure separable at a portion thereof, tightening means for said band element adj acent said portion comprising an elongated, over-center, toggle locking member pivoted at one end to the band element on one side of said separable portion, a toggle draw link pivoted at one end on said locking member intermediate the ends thereof, and adjustable means on said band element on the other side of said separable portion engageable by the other end of said toggle draw link consisting of a rectangular abutment plate which in different positions of rotary adjustment permits different degrees of tightening of said band element when the locking member is moved overcenter to locking position, said adjustable means including an attaching plate aflixed to said band element having a forked end remote from said toggle locking member and adapted to receive the end of said draw link, and said abutment plate being detachably mounted in said forked end on a bolt carried on said attaching plate and entered in an eccentric hole provided therefor in said abutment plate, said bolt being removable to permit assembly of said abutment plate in the forked end of said attaching plate in different positions of rotary adjustment, the forked end of said attaching plate being only deep enough to accommodate said abutment plate in either of its positions of rotary adjustment so that rotation except through a small angularity is prohibited when the plate is disposed in the forked end of said attaching plate and the bolt is entered in the eccentric hole.

6. In a receptacle, a closure, a fastening band element to surround the receptacle and closure separable at a portion thereof, tightening means for said band element adjacent said portion comprising an, elongated, over-center, toggle locking member pivoted at one end to the band element on one side of separable portion, a toggle draw link of need length pivoted at one end on said locking member intermediate the ends thereof, the other end having a transvers portion, and adjustable means on said band element on the other side of said separable portion engageable with the transverse portion on the latter end of toggle draw link consisting of an abutment plate of rectangular form having means for fastening the same in fixed relation to said band element in any one of a plurality of different positions Of rotary adjustment about an axis located eccentrically thereof, whereby either one of the flat edges thereof may serve as an abutment for the transverse portion on the end of the draw link, said edges in different positions of rotary adjustment providing abutments for the transverse portion on th end of the draw link spaced differently from the separable portion of the band, whereby to provide for different degrees of tightening of said band element when the locking member is moved over-center to locking position, said band element having a recess provided therein to accommodate said abutment plate, the latter being non-rotatable in said recess when secured therein in a selected position of rotary adjustment.

LUTHER S. AUGSPURGER. DELMAS F. I-IASSE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 513,727 Potts Jan. 30, 1894 1,423,157 Schwarz July 18, 1922 1,501,203 Crossley July 15, 19 4 1,904,340 Wright Apr. 18, 1933 2,303,625 Ellis Dec. 1, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 462,753 France Feb. 4, 1914 

